The bags are packed and your hunting trip is booked, but do you have the rifle scopes you need? Nothing is more disappointing than lining up a prize deer only to miss out because your equipment isn’t good enough. Outfitting your rifle with the proper scope makes all the difference. From Vortex to Nikon and Leupold, Sportsman’s Warehouse has the top rifle scopes for sale.

Why You Need a Gun Scope

There are two reasons to check out Sportsman’s Warehouse’s wide array of hunting scopes: improved vision and enhanced accuracy. Iron sights routinely block the field of vision when aiming at a target 100 yards away. There’s no such problem with rifle scopes. Most crosshairs only cover 1/8 of an inch at that distance. With a scope, you’ll easily spot that prize deer and not come home empty-handed.

Know the Terms

How exactly do you find the best rifle scope for you? Whether you’re looking for hunting scopes or the best long range scope, ensure you’re comfortable with the feel of your new gear. To best select a new scope, you’ll first need to learn the anatomy and terminology:

Ocular lens: This is the lens nearest to your eye. Light is magnified through, illuminating the eyepiece.

Power ring: Allowing for the adjustment of magnification, the power ring is an essential part to all gun scopes. Many stock settings are adjusted for a 100-yard length. If you plan on longer or shorter distance shooting, you’ll need to sight in the scope to your specifications.

Windage adjustment: Moving your rifle scope side to side is enabled through the windage adjustment setting. Windage is measured in clicks that also span 100 yards.

Elevation adjustment: The opposite of windage adjustment, this feature allows you to move the scope’s sights vertically. Again, 100-yard north and south margins are determined through simple clicks.

Tube: Perhaps the most important part of the scope is the tube. Constructed as the primary body of the attachment, this piece introduces light and protection. Often, tubes will be 1 inch or 30 millimeters. Size is an important aspect of any tube since you’ll need to pair your newest hunting scope with the mounting rings.

Mounting rings: While technically not part of the scope, the mounting rings attach the sights to your rifle. Needless to say, you’ll want durable and correctly sized mounting rings.

How to Find the Right Rifle Scope for You

Selecting the correct scope is easy, but does require some knowledge. Typically you’ll be looking for just a simple hunting scope, especially for your first one. These sights are not high-powered and focus on the immediate terrain — normally about 100 yards. If you’re into sport shooting, and are looking for the best long range scope, you’ll want something that magnifies up to 12 times.

The power of the scope is articulated through a series of numbers. You can either pick up a fixed power scope or variable power scope. In the latter, a shooter may adjust the sights to increase or decrease the magnification. The first number listed on the equipment will deliver all the information you need pertaining to power. On a scope labeled as “3-9x40,” the sight can be magnified anywhere from three to 9 times.

The second number merely indicates the diameter of the objective lens. If you’d like a wider range of view, opt for something that is slightly bigger. Keep in mind that the bigger rifle scopes can be unwieldy or tougher to keep out of harms way, but they also provide advantages when scanning the terrain.

Combined with an ability to pull light through the lens, the best rifle scopes ensure that you can quickly find your target and put it down. Instead of struggling with your stock iron sights this hunting season, peruse our selection for a new rifle scope now.